New Taiwanese semiconductor lab for green products

Taiwan's National Tsing Hua University unveiled a new compound semiconductor laboratory Monday that aims to develop new chip components that will support alternative green energy sources.

The lab represents the first project in Taiwan to fully integrate semiconductor component research, said Cheng Keh-yung, dean of NTHU's College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, at the inauguration ceremony, according to the Central News Agency.

These components will generate green energy and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Among the components targeted are high-brightness LEDs and high-power, high-voltage transistors, which Cheng described as the keys to developing next-generation lighting systems, electric cars and communications equipment.

The lab work will cover passive and active component development from the epitaxy process (which creates crystals for many base semiconductor materials) to chip component manufacturing and testing and is a collaboration between the university's Center For Nanotechnology, Materials Science, and Microsystems and the Institute of Electronics Engineering.